Mass. companies team up to prevent head injuries

In the heat of a game, you might not respond to a hit if you’re in the zone and the crowd is cheering. But now with the light coming on, it gives you the opportunity to say you’re experiencing symptoms, or at least signals to others that you need to get checked.

Many parents and coaches watch their young athletes like a hawk, yet often don’t know when a knock to the head requires more serious attention. Now they have a clever new tool to help them.

Reebok and the Cambridge technology company MC10 Inc. have released a device, called CheckLight, that measures the movement of an athlete’s head and indicates when a jolt is severe enough to warrant medical attention. The simple system includes a body sensor inside a skullcap, with a small screen that lights up on impact: yellow for a moderate blow, red for more severe.

“In the heat of a game, you might not respond to a hit if you’re in the zone and the crowd is cheering,” said Elyse Kabinoff, a spokeswoman for MC10. “But now with the light coming on, it gives you the opportunity to say you’re experiencing symptoms, or at least signals to others that you need to get checked.”